Bulgaria to lose EU funding if it doesn’t improve transparency

The commission has said it will formally suspend over €500m in infrastructure aid to Bulgaria because of “irregularities” it has found in the way the country manages EU funds.

The EU has also withdrawn its accreditation of two government agencies overseeing pre-accession funding, after finding “serious allegations of irregularities as well as suspicions of fraud and conflicts of interest in the award of contracts.”

Aid to Bulgaria had been temporarily frozen in January, but the commission said today it was “not sufficiently reassured to ease suspicion” and would proceed with a formal suspension.

“As soon as Bulgaria has taken the necessary steps the commission is prepared to reverse the decision,” said a commission spokesman on Wednesday.

He was speaking at the release of a series of progress reports on Bulgaria and Romania, the EU’s newest members, who joined in 2007.

According to the report, when Bulgaria entered the EU, it still faced “serious challenges” in ensuring a functioning judiciary and in fighting corruption and organised crime.

The executive thought the best course of action would be to address the problems after membership.

However, German deputy Elmar Brok thinks the credibility of the enlargement process must be ensured by activating ‘safeguard clauses’ written into Bulgaria's accession treaty. This would mean the suspension of certain EU rights for the country.

He said, “The blocking of EU funds for Bulgaria is the right decision which was overdue. It is the only way to ensure the credibility of the EU enlargement process.

“It is also an important signal that the EU uses taxpayers’ money responsibly and that recipient governments have to be prepared for such blocking measures.

The situation in both [Romania and Bulgaria] has become worse rather than better since their accession to the EU. I would like to call on the commission to activate the safeguard clauses provided for in the accession treaties at the next possible opportunity.”

According to Joseph Daul, chair of parliament’s EPP-ED group, today’s report is “extremely alarming” for all member states.

“The Bulgarian government failed to honour its commitments towards Europe for successful eradication of corruption and organised crime.

“It has completely failed to untangle the web of conflicts of interests and prove to the rest of Europe that it is serious in bringing Bulgaria fully under the rule of law.”

The commission has warned Bulgaria that if it does not take “urgent action” it could lose out on the money entirely, and recommends a series of measures to take.

Bulgaria’s main problems, the report says, are outdated procedures, a high turnover of staff and weak salaries in public administration, which cause inefficiency and corruption.

Organised crime and high-level corruption exacerbate Bulgaria’s administrative troubles, it goes on, and such crimes often go unpunished.

Bulgaria's judiciary, it says, is slow and often subject to leaks of confidential information, as well as allegations of influence..

Although the commission will not issue any specific deadlines to the country, it does say that closing dates are fast approaching for contracting some of the funds, which were agreed before it joined the EU.

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